As for me, I had nothing. I mean, whatcouldI say?Oops?
Joel's voice was quiet. "Tell me."
I tried to remember his question. "You mean, why'd I do that?"
"No." He lifted the envelope. "Tell me what's in here."
"It's nothing." I gave him a shaky smile. "Just a mistake. That's all."
His gaze hardened. "A mistake, huh?"
Desperately, I reached for the envelope. My fingertips had barely grazed it when Joel yanked it out of my reach. "Nice try."
"Seriously," I said, "it's nothing important."
Ignoring me, he opened the envelope and pulled out its contents, which of course, were utterly undamaged.
He looked at the check and then at the letter. His eyes quickly scanned the text. When he finished, he gave a bitter laugh. "I should've known."
"It's not true," I said.
"Uh-huh." He gave me a dubious look. "So that's why you tried to burn it?"
"Well, yeah," I stammered. "I mean, it's all just a mistake, so–"
"Right."
"It is," I insisted.
I recalled the letter's contents. To call it a rejection letter was a massive understatement. I couldn't recall every word, but a few of them definitely stood out.
Juvenile.
Simplistic.
Not of the caliber we're looking for.
It was all a lie.
I gave Joel a pleading look. "You've gotta believe me. Claude wouldneversend out this kind of letter. Even with rejections – well, those are worded a lot nicer than this."
Joel gave a tight shrug. "Hey, nothing wrong with honesty."
"Except it'snothonest. That's what I'm trying to tell you."
"What'd you think? That I couldn't handle it?" He released the letter, and it fluttered to the floor between us. "Forget it. It’s nothing I didn't know."
"Oh come on," I said. "That is such a crock."
"You wanna know what's a crock?" he said. "That you'd try to hide it. What'd you think? That I'd cry in the corner because I got bad news?" He made a scoffing sound. "Trust me, I've had worse."
He was right. He had. Many times.
Again, that stupid nickname flashed in my brain.Cigar.
But this was different, because the letter was a lie. Joel had won on his own merit. Even without the endowment, he had an amazing future ahead of him. And somehow, I had to make him see that.
"Listen," I said, "I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I saw Claude today, and–"
